Council to consider extending truck-stop ban

When the Terrebonne Parish Council meets Wednesday, the hot item on the agenda will be extending a ban on video poker truck stops.

The council meets at 6 p.m. at the Courthouse Annex, corner of Goode and School streets in Houma. Due to the Mardi Gras holiday, no committee meetings will be held Monday or Tuesday.

The council will consider a proposal that would extend the moratorium's expiration date by 120 days. It currently is scheduled to expire April 12.

The Community Development and Planning Committee recommended the extension so that parish can complete a comprehensive master plan for land use throughout the parish, giving it a better of idea of future zoning regulations.

The moratorium was passed last April after mini-casinos began entering the parish at a rapid pace. Since 1999, new video poker truck stops have been opened on state Highway 311, Grand Caillou Road and West Park Avenue, just before the Lafourche Parish line.

The council is considering restricting truck stops to within 1,000 feet of U.S. Highway 90 and the proposed I-49 corridor.

For the third consecutive meeting, the council's agenda includes a proposed ordinance that would mandate stricter drainage requirements for new commercial developments.

Currently, any new development that has a building or hard surface, such as concrete, occupying at least 70 percent of the lot must meet the regulations of the parish's Storm Water Drainage Manual. The new proposal, in an attempt to modernize drainage requirements on older properties, would lower the percentage to 20.

At the council's Feb. 14 meeting, Bill Boyd, director of the Bayou Board of Realtors, requested the proposal be amended to allow developers who cannot meet the requirements at their site to have the option of providing equivalent flood protection to another area of the parish.

Another item on the agenda is a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal for anyone to discharge a firearm, excluding shotguns, in a subdivision or within 300 feet of a home.

Firing shotguns in a subdivision or within 150 feet of a home would also be outlawed.

Ryan Chatelain is a staff writer at The Courier. He can be reached at 850-1150 or by e-mail at news@houmatoday.com.